A Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week found 45 percent support among Americans, an uptick of 5 percent since the last poll in mid-April. Those against impeaching Trump, totaled 42 percent. The poll, taken Monday, reportedly showed increased support for impeachment among Democrats and independents.
Of course, one poll does not a trend make. But several factors could have playing into the change, including the release of the redacted Mueller report showing Donald Trump's campaign certainly tried to collude with Russia and that Trump later engaged in a pattern of obstructive acts. Release of the report also showed that Attorney General William Barr lied to the public about the nature of the report, which was subsequently highlighted by a hearing in which Senate Democrats sliced and diced Barr's handling of the report's roll out.
Though support for Trump's impeachment has generally lagged even as most Americans say Trump has committed criminal acts either before or in office, some openings on the matter may be emerging. A Politico/Morning Consult poll revealed that post-Mueller, 34 percent of voters say they now have a "much less" favorable view from Trump while just 16 percent say their view is "much more" favorable.
- Much more favorable: 16%
- Somewhat more favorable: 15%
- Somewhat less favorable: 11%
- Much less favorable: 34%
- Don’t know / No opinion: 24%
Among independent voters, in particular, Trump suffered a 21-point hit after the report’s release, with 29 percent saying they now have a much less favorable view of him and only 8 percent saying their view is much more favorable.
Barr's image also suffered in the poll with a 39 percent plurality of voters saying they disapproved of how he handled Mueller's report, while 29 percent said they approved, and 32 percent saying they're not sure. But people appear to be paying fairly close attention to developments surrounding the Russia probe. Nearly two-thirds of voters said they had seen or heard either "a lot" or at least something about the letter Mueller sent Barr saying he had misled Americans about the nature of the report.